THE PROTECTOR – Donna Grant
Sons of Texas , Book 2
St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN-13: 978-1-250-08340-1
January 2017
Romantic Suspense
Dover, Delaware – Present Day
Ex-Air Force pilot Mia Carter has gotten herself into a mess. The flight she took into Columbia for Camilo with black market reptiles got searched and her load confiscated. Camilo is justifiably irate about the two million dollars he is out, and is about to show her just how mad he is. Mia isn't too happy either, because when the Commander at Dover Air Force Base where she bases her plane finds out that she might have her pilot's license suspended, she could be kicked out of there too. As four men start attacking her, she manages to kill two, until another man shows up and dispatches the others. They fly away in her plane, but after looking at the stranger, she recognizes his resemblance to Orrin Loughman, whom she did several missions for. Orrin works for the Department of Defense, and on their last mission when they returned to the base, all his crew was killed, and Orrin was kidnapped in her airplane's hanger while she was getting her plane worked on. They had taken something from Russia. Mia was not told what it was, but Orrin mailed it to his home in Texas. Orrin has three sons in different parts of the military he is not close to: Wyatt, Owen and the one that saved her hide—Cullen, the youngest. It especially irks Mia that she is immediately attracted to him.
When the brothers decide to split up to find their father, Cullen goes to the base where he was working out of and the pilot who was the only one to survive the attack. Cullen can't believe that Mia has the guts and power to fly her airplane and even protect herself in hand to hand combat. In fact, everything he learns about her matches his ideal of the perfect woman, but can he trust her? They conclude the Russians are behind the attack, but who could have authorized six or seven men onto the base that it would have taken to kill his crew with no hints of fighting? Mia has links to the Russians in the community, and they soon learn it is the Saints who are behind this attack and kidnapping; not necessarily just Russians but also Americans who have gone over to their side. What Orrin took from Russia was a bioweapon, but not just any one, one that could be a disaster for mankind.
Wyatt, Owen and Cullen haven't been close to their father since their mother was murdered in their house years ago. As Orrin is captured and has time to think, perhaps her murder could be connected to something that is happening now. Cullen, as the youngest son, escaped the sight of his mother that day, but it still hurts him. Wyatt and Owen saw what happened, and it affected them even more than Cullen. Will this fight for their father draw them closer together?
THE PROTECTOR – Donna Grant
Donna Grant pulls you into Mia and Cullen's story from the first page. Told from their points of view and also Orrin's as he is kidnapped, bad things and people are attempting to attack America, and Orrin is pleased he got the bioweapon, Ragnarok, mailed to his family. These people are all warriors and fight with all their strength, physical and mental, as they try to figure out how to get rid of the Saints and Ragnarok.
Secondary characters are Orrin, Sergei and Yuri, Russians, but whether they are for or against Mia and Cullen they aren't sure, and they are the only ones with information about the Saints. There's also Kate, a nurse who was brought in to insure Orrin didn't die, whom the Saints released without killing.
THE PROTECTOR is book two in the Sons of Texas series, following brother Owen's story, THE HERO (December 2016). Orrin is still kidnapped, but it appears they are getting close to finding him. There are twists and turns, and military men involved with the Saints. If you enjoy a lot of suspense with your romance, this is just the story for you this month. In June, Wyatt's story, THE LEGEND, will complete the series. We can only hope Orrin is saved and Ragnarok is taken care of, along with the Saints.
Carolyn Crisher
